Calling all Utah game show lovers — here’s where you can join the fun

Chase Henry is a lover of all things game shows — the lights, the excitement, the competition and the anticipation.

“I used to host ‘The Weakest Link’ in my parents’ garage as a kid with the big old camcorder, filming all my friends,” Henry recalls. He’s even been a part of a show himself, briefly appearing on season one of “Beast Games” as contestant #327.

That’s why two months ago, Henry opened Salt Lake Game Show Experience in an old auto shop in the Ballpark neighborhood.

It’s one of three new businesses that have popped up within the last few months in the Beehive State — where game show fanatics can phone their friends and come on down as contestants.

In Murray, Jaylyn Bower, the general manager of Game Show Battle Rooms, said because of the number of families, businesses and corporations the state has, “Utah’s built for this type of experience.”

Salt Lake Game Show Experience

At Henry’s business, the experience starts in a living room-inspired lobby. “Family Feud” plays on television. Framed photos of game shows like “Squid Games” and “Deal or No Deal” decorate the wall.

Just down the hall, the game studio beckons. Ten brightly colored podiums equipped with buzzers welcome contestants. The gaming podiums surround a never-ending infinity floor that steals the show as it beams and dances with different colored lights. Once you’re in position, the massive 240-piece game screen that guides players through the experience flickers to life. The game is on.

At Salt Lake Game Show Experience, contestants play 10 to 15 mini games that are replicas of popular television game shows, such as “Family Feud.”

“Before you can even get bored of one game, you’re on to the next game. It keeps people very engaged,” Henry said.

There’s a set program when contestants come in, but they rotate the roster of mini games, so each experience at the business isn’t the exact same.

“Name That Tune” is the most popular, according to Henry, who often hosts the show for visitors while dressed in a blazer that would impress the likes of Alex Trebek and Pat Sajak.

Each team competes for points and the final winning team receives a free future game show experience, but Henry said they hope to give away different prizes in the future.

Game Show Battle Rooms

Game Show Battle Rooms was started in 2017 in Minneapolis. There are 19 locations across the country and the Utah one opened in August.

“They wanted to find something that nobody has done yet, and they were the first ones to kind of pioneer the indoor game show experience,” Bower said.

There are two different rooms contestants can choose to play in: Prime Time or Classics Showdowns. Each room starts with a survey battle. The game surveyed people across the country and lists the top four answers to the question on the board.

“Then we’re going to move into our matchup wars, where we put a team member in the hot seat, and then everybody’s trying to kind of mind-read and fill-in-the-blanks,” Bower said. After, the teams play three Time Rush games — which are 60-second mini games such as flippy cup.

In the Classics room, players interact with big game props, like a giant light-up wheel. Teams solve word puzzles together, price match items from a store, roll enormous dice and drop chips down a giant board. “The Drop” is their most popular attraction, Bower said.

At most locations, Classics is the more popular choice with all of its game show props, but Bower said in Utah, Prime Time is the winner.

Teams collect points and the winner gets “the satisfaction of beating out the other team,” as Bower puts it, but if you opt to get a battle pack add-on, there are some prizes available.

Great Big Game Show

Just across the street at Fashion Place Mall, Great Big Game Show is making its mark. When people walk inside the business, they’re greeted by a giant, colorful game show wheel, which quickly gives them a taste of what awaits in the game room.

At the Great Big Game Show, players are instantly transported. The small studio is fitted with another big wheel, two long podiums and a gigantic screen that all wait in silence as contestants come in. Soon, a loud “Live from Murray, Utah” greeting ushers them into the experience.

“As soon as you see the lights, the action, that is when you really get invested,” Thomas Jenkins, the manager, said.

The Utah location of the Great Big Game Show opened in mid-January and is the 18th across the country. The show started in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2023. It’s the second entertainment experience from the founders of The Escape Game, which also has a location next door at the mall, and features multiple escape rooms.

Players at Great Big Game Show split into two teams, red versus blue, and play a series of live mini games over the course of an hour for points. There are a total of 18 mini games.

Jenkins said the number of games played per hour depends on the speed of the contestants — some can play six games while others finish eight to nine — but each time the show is randomized.

“One of our favorite games is called Blockchain, where both teams will be competing to buzz in and answer a trivia question faster than the other team,” Jenkins said. He also noted that the variety and amount of mini games they offer means there’s a significant replayability option for guests.

The game studio is also highly interactive, with props, lights and sounds that coordinate together perfectly. Chip, the experience’s digital mascot, co-hosts alongside the show’s live host.

The team that wins gets bragging rights, but the Great Big Game Show also sends each player a highlight montage reel that is filmed while they are playing the game. They’re offered a 20% discount and a glimpse at the games that they didn’t play as an incentive to come back again. There are also merchandise items available for purchase in the lobby.